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October 28, 2015
USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George testified on October 27, 2015 before Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at a hearing titled "The Global Crisis of Religious Freedom,"Read Testimony before the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee Of the House Foreign Affairs Committee On The Global Crisis of Religious Freedom & Its Challenge to U.S. Foreign Policy
Subcommittee Hearing: The Global Crisis of Religious Freedom (EventID=104112)
July 09, 2019
On June 27, 2019, Vice Chair Nadine Maenza testified at a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on violations of the right to freedom of religion of Christian communities around the world.Written Testimony
Hearing Webpage
March 26, 2014
USCIRF Commissioner Eric P. Schwartz testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing entitled "The Persecution of Religious and Indigenous Communities in Vietnam."
Click here to view the full written testimony.
October 27, 2017
Oral StatementAS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Commissioner Thomas Reese, S.J.
U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom
Vietnam Caucus/Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Briefing on Religious Freedom in Vietnam
October 24, 2017
AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Good afternoon. I want to thank the Vietnam Caucus and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for organizing this briefing. My special thanks to Representatives Lowenthal, Correa, Lofgren and Royce and other members of the Caucus and Commission for their leadership in support of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam.
I am Father Thomas Reese, a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Commissioner Jackie Wolcott, who had planned to be with us today, has taken sick. She asked me to convey to you her deepest regrets.
I join Commissioner Wolcott in applauding the Caucus and Commission members for their unflagging efforts on behalf of prisoners of conscience. One of these prisoners, now a former prisoner I am so pleased to say, is here with us today – and in freedom, Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh. I also want to welcome his brave wife Tran Thi Hong, who along with the Pastor and their five children, now are living in California.
Pastor and Mrs. Hong, I honor you for your resiliency under the cruel conditions under which you lived and being forced to leave your country. You inspire all of us to advocate for those who are imprisoned for their religious beliefs, activities, and advocacy. On a personal note, I am deeply relieved by your release and honored to be here with you and your wife. I thank everyone who helped make today possible—and every day that you are in freedom hereafter.
Both Representative Lowenthal and Commissioner Wolcott worked on your behalf: the Representative as part of the Tom Lantos Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project, and Commissioner Wolcott, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. The goal of both efforts is to advocate to free prisoners of conscience and hold culpable governments accountable. USCIRF also long has expressed concerns about the status of religious freedom in Vietnam. I was part of a USCIRF delegation who went to Vietnam in August 2015 to see firsthand the conditions there for religious freedom.
Others share USCIRF’s concerns and have worked tirelessly in support of human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam. Along with the Vietnam Caucus and the Lantos Commission, I want to highlight the work of members of brave local organizations in Vietnam who worked on behalf of Pastor Chinh and Mrs. Hong. These include the Vietnam Coalition Against Torture, the Association for Support of Victims of Torture, and a multi-faith roundtable. I also must mention the tireless work of international organizations like Boat People SOS and others.
Pastor Chinh was a prisoner in Vietnam, but he committed no crime and should never have been imprisoned. What he did was minister to his Christian community and peacefully criticize the Vietnam government’s restrictions on preaching and religious expression. For that, he suffered in prison, in ill health, while the Vietnamese authorities harassed his family. Government officials subjected Mrs. Hong to frequent government surveillance and beatings, and violently, and ultimately unsuccessfully, tried to prevent her from meeting with then-U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein, even abducting and again beating her in their failed attempt.
Sadly, the Vietnamese government’s treatment of Pastor Chinh and Mrs. Hong is symptomatic of the grave status of the freedom of religion or belief in Vietnam.
Nearly 11 years ago, the State Department wrongly removed Vietnam from its list of CPCs – Countries of Particular Concern. CPC designated countries are among the worst violators of religious freedom in the world. USCIRF disagreed then with the State Department and we disagree now.
The State Department is mandated to again issue its annual CPC designations by November 13, and we urge both the designation of Vietnam as a CPC, and actions be taken commensurate with this designation. We also urge you to join us in this effort.
USCIRF believes that Vietnam deserves to be a CPC unless and until the government improves religious freedom conditions and respects international human rights standards. To that end, we will watch how the government, among other actions, implements the new Law on Belief and Religion.
This law isn’t perfect, and it is a far cry from international standards. It started out as very bad, in my opinion, but what’s key is that the Vietnamese government engaged with the U.S., took input from religious organizations and guidance from international experts, and seemed willing to address the country’s religious freedom challenges.
However, our optimism has been tempered by reports that deeply concern us about how the government intends to implement the law and penalize individuals and organizations it deems to be in violation.
Also deeply concerning are the countless prisoners of conscience who remain in Vietnamese jails, many of whom are tortured, and the countless other religious believers and human rights advocates, and their family members, whom the government harasses and seeks to intimidate. And then there are the local authorities and thugs who carry out with impunity brutal human rights abuses against vulnerable religious groups including: Khmer Krom Buddhists, independent Hoa Hao Buddhists and Cao Dai followers, Montagnard Christians, and others.
What can the U.S. government do? In addition to re-designating Vietnam as a CPC, and raising concerns about the implementation of the Law on Belief and Religion, I urge that U.S. officials consistently raise prisoner of conscience cases and request to meet with these prisoners and their family members when they are on CODELS to Vietnam.
I also urge the U.S. government to employ tools available under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the Frank R. Wolf Religious Freedom Act, and the International Religious Freedom Act. These Acts and other existing tools will help hold accountable Vietnamese officials and government agencies who have participated in, are responsible for, or have tolerated human rights abuses, including severe violations of freedom of religion or belief.
The U.S. government also must continue to regularly visit remote, rural areas where violations of freedom of religion or belief are likely to occur.
The U.S. can and should engage Vietnam on religious freedom issues and other human rights, and urge our international partners to do the same. With the example of Pastor Chinh and Tran Thi Hong before us, we must continue our efforts until there is freedom in Vietnam.
Thank you.
October 21, 2013
February 05, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2001
Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WASHINGTON - With Muslim-Christian violence flaring yet again in Indonesia, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government agency advising the Administration and Congress, yesterday wrote Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to call attention to an increasingly alarming situation. "There is ... great concern that widespread killing - based almost entirely on religious affiliation - may take place in parts of Sulawesi," wrote Commission Chair Michael K. Young. "The Commission is concerned also that the Indonesian government is not giving the situation in Sulawesi the attention it requires."
The full text of the letter follows:
December 4, 2001
The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
Dear Secretary Powell:
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom remains deeply concerned about sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia. We are particularly concerned about the situation in Sulawesi, which has seen brutal violence between Christians and Muslims since April of last year. At this time, we are receiving reports that forces from the extremist militia group Laskar Jihad have entered central Sulawesi, massed outside the city of Tentena, and have started attacking and killing Christians there in retaliation for killings of Muslims that occurred last year. This is especially alarming because it was the presence of the Laskar Jihad in the Moluccas in May 2000 that seriously aggravated the fighting on those islands and the very great loss of life sustained there. The same outcome is feared for Sulawesi.
The Commission is aware that the violence between Christians and Muslims in Sulawesi is complicated in origin. As with the situation in the Moluccas, there are economic and political rivalries that exacerbated the conflict, as many of the indigenous inhabitants of Sulawesi are Christian and many of the Muslims on the island are migrants who have come to the island only in recent decades. Resentments boiled over in the spring of last year and there was brutal, though limited, fighting between the two groups.
However, as happened in the Moluccas, there is little doubt that the entrance of the Laskar Jihad will intensify the religious nature of the conflict and take the fighting to much deadlier levels. In the Moluccas, not only did the fighting worsen but reconciliation efforts between Christians and Muslims were deliberately thwarted by the Laskar Jihad. There is thus great concern that widespread killing-based almost entirely on religious affiliation-may take place in parts of Sulawesi.
The Commission is concerned also that the Indonesian government is not giving the situation in Sulawesi the attention it requires. In its May 2001 report, the Commission recommended that the U.S. government press the government of Indonesia to see that all outside militia forces, such as the Laskar Jihad, are removed from the sites of sectarian violence and that they and other groups are disarmed. To date, there is little evidence that the Indonesian government has made any effort in this regard. In addition, in its recent conclusions and recommendations (after a review of Indonesia's report), the United Nations Committee Against Torture notes that there are allegations that paramilitary groups responsible for torture and other ill-treatment in areas of Indonesia are supported by some parts of the Indonesian military and sometimes even joined by military personnel. The Committee also expressed concern over "a climate of impunity."
The Commission respectfully recommends that the U.S. government maintain pressure on the Indonesian government 1) to pay serious attention to the sectarian conflicts in Indonesia, particularly in Sulawesi and the Moluccas; 2) to disarm and remove violent extremist vigilante groups such as the Laskar Jihad; 3) to bring under control rogue elements within the Indonesian security forces that support paramilitary groups such as Laskar Jihad; 4) to do everything possible to protect the safety of the peoples of Sulawesi; and 5) to ensure that perpetrators responsible for the killings are brought to justice.
Because it is very difficult to obtain information about what is happening in Sulawesi, the Commission would very much appreciate additional information from the Department regarding the following questions:
a. What is the U.S. government doing to find out more about exactly what is going on in Sulawesi?
b. What is the Indonesian government doing to protect the people of Sulawesi from outside militia groups such as the Laskar Jihad, particularly the Christian population in the Poso-Tentena area, which is under direct attack by Laskar Jihad forces?c. What, if any, effort is the government of Indonesia making to disarm and remove extremist militias that exacerbate sectarian violence in Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and elsewhere in Indonesia?
c. What, if any, effort is the government of Indonesia making to disarm and remove extremist militias that exacerbate sectarian violence in Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and elsewhere in Indonesia?
d. What effort is the Indonesian government making to solve the economic and political disputes and to promote reconciliation between Muslims and Christians in areas such as Sulawesi, and how effective can such efforts be if paramilitary forces such as the Laskar Jihad are not removed?
e. What effort is the government making to bring to justice those responsible for the killings?
The Commission fully appreciates the attention that the campaign against terrorism requires and also understands that Indonesia has a crucial role to play in that fight. However, we cannot let our battle against terrorism in one part of the world divert our attention from areas where other people are being killed due, at least in large part, to their religious affiliation.
The Commission will continue to monitor events in Sulawesi and other areas in Indonesia where religion-based communal violence is occurring. We appreciate your consideration of our recommendations and your earliest response to our request for additional information. Thank you for your close attention to this very serious matter.
Respectfully,
Michael K. Young
Chair
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.
Michael K. Young,Chair
- Felice D. GaerFiruz KazemzadehRichard D. LandBishop William Francis MurphyLeila Nadya SadatNina SheaThe Hon. Charles R. StithThe Hon. Shirin Tahir-KheliSteven T. McFarland,Executive Director
February 05, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2000
Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today wrote to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright with recommendations for a stronger U.S. government response to the Muslim-Christian violence wracking Indonesia's Maluku Islands, formerly know as the Spice Islands. The violence has reportedly killed at least 3,000 people in the past year. The text of the letter follows below:
The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Albright:
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is gravely concerned about the current communal violence in the Malukus region of Indonesia. There are reports that at least 3,000 Muslims and Christians have been killed since the outbreak of violence in January 1999, and hundreds are believed to have died in the last two weeks. The situation worsens as the killing continues and supplies of food and medicine reportedly dwindle in the region.
The Commission is particularly concerned because there is evidence to suggest that the Indonesian government is tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom such as murder, forced mass resettlement, and torture. There appears to be little question but that the targets and victims of such violence are selected on the basis of their religion. Moreover, places of worship have been primary targets for destruction.
The Commission is aware that the Administration and you personally have spoken out in response to the recent violence, and have sought, in our bilateral relations with Indonesia, to support President Wahid in his efforts to control the unrest. However, the Commission believes that the serious escalation of violence in the Malukus in recent weeks requires a more energetic response on the part of the United States.
The Commission respectfully recommends that the United States Government: 1) use all diplomatic means at its disposal to encourage the Indonesian government to stop the violence and to investigate and prosecute those responsible; 2) provide whatever assistance is necessary to help the Indonesian government in these efforts as well as to alleviate the humanitarian situation; 3) monitor closely the implementation of the state of civil emergency in the Malukus that President Wahid declared on June 25, 2000; and 4) if the Indonesian government is unable to control the violence, press for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force, as was done in East Timor.
The efforts undertaken so far by the Indonesian government have been inadequate to quell the violence. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that the government can do more, but is unable or unwilling to do so. There are reports that members of the Indonesian security forces in the Malukus have taken sides in the fighting between Muslims and Christians; some have participated in the fighting while others may have supplied weapons to the combatants. The so-called "Lasker Jihad" group, led by Jaffar Umar Thalib, has for a number of weeks openly called for violence against Christians in the Malukus. Thousands of the Lasker group have been able to travel, and ship weapons, to the Malukus despite the government's announcement of a blockade of the region.
Because the Commission has been denied access to cable traffic with any U.S. embassy, including the one in Jakarta, we would appreciate additional information from the Department regarding:
- are there factions within the military encouraging or participating in the violence and, if so, at what level of the military hierarchy; has the military failed to carry out any of President Wahid's orders in relation to the situation in the Malukus?
- what is the Indonesian government doing to ensure the neutrality and effectiveness of the security forces in the Malukus, and to control outside provocateurs and paramilitary groups?
- what legal power does President Wahid possess that would allow him to respond more effectively to the violence, and is he able as a political matter to carry out his full legal powers?
- are investigations and prosecutions taking place with respect to previous incidents of violence?
- are sophisticated weapons being used in the violent attacks, and, if so, where are the weapons coming from?
- has the Indonesian government been able to do more to stop communal violence in other situations, such as Aceh or East Timor?
- what has the Indonesian government done to promote tolerance among Christians and Muslims?
- Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh,Vice ChairRabbi David SapersteinLaila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. BoltonDean Michael K. YoungArchbishop Theodore E. McCarrickNina SheaJustice Charles Z. SmithAmbassador Robert Seiple,Ex-OfficioSteven T. McFarland,Executive Director
November 14, 2011
November 14, 2011The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), allow me to wish you a safe and productive visit to Indonesia for the East Asia Summit. We recognize that Indonesia is a priority for your Administration"s engagement with both Asia and the Muslim-majority world.
Indonesia is a historically tolerant nation that is struggling with a growing intolerance. We believe your Administration is uniquely positioned to address ongoing religious freedom problems in Indonesia. We urge you to use your visit to raise these concerns openly with Indonesians and give priority to religious freedom and related human rights in U.S.-Indonesia relations.
There are strong political forces, terrorist networks, and extremist groups that continue to be serious obstacles to Indonesia's democratic trajectory and a source of ongoing violations of religious freedom and related human rights. The Administration should see religious freedom as an interest intertwined deeply with U.S. security, economic, and political interests in Indonesia and as a critical component of better U.S.-Indonesia relations. A creative and sustained diplomacy that protects and advances religious freedom can positively affect a whole range of issues, from the rule of law to the rights of women, from the protection of religious minorities from societal violence to the development of social capital that ensures economic growth. U.S. policy and programs should reflect this reality and focus on bolstering Indonesia's ability to address past religious freedom problems and face new ones.
USCIRF remains concerned about the troubling rise in societal violence experienced by religious minorities and human rights defenders at the hands of extremist groups seeking to enforce one version of religious orthodoxy. Too often the police and local government officials tolerate or aid this violence and courts do not sufficiently punish perpetrators. Over the past several months, a Christian church was forcibly closed in West Java, a suicide bomber attacked a Protestant church in Central Java, Baha'is were detained on charges of proselytizing children in East Java, sectarian tensions re-emerged in Ambon, and individuals who murdered defenseless Ahmadiyah Muslims were given light sentences.
We understand that the influence of extremist groups far exceeds their size or electoral appeal and have applauded President Yudhoyono's public defense of religious tolerance. Nevertheless, religious leaders and civil society representatives have expressed to us their lack of confidence in the Indonesian government's ability to address fully ongoing issues of police impunity or societal violence. In some parts of Indonesia a culture of impunity exists in which extremist groups operate with little or no consequences, harassing places of worship, extorting protection money from religious minorities, and pressuring local officials to detain and restrict allegedly heterodox religious groups. Such situations are the main source of religious freedom abuses in Indonesia and undermine faith in Indonesian democracy and court system.
During your visit and after, we hope you will speak out publicly about why religious freedom protections, particularly as they relate to the rule of law, are a critical element of bilateral relations and pivotal to the development of free, prosperous, and peaceful societies. We believe that the vast majority of Indonesians will warmly receive this message. We also urge the Administration to develop with Indonesia a regular human rights dialogue. Such a dialogue would establish a structure through which rule of law and human rights concerns, including religious freedom restrictions and violations, could be discussed.
We hope your visit will further deepen bilateral relations, binding our democracies in shared efforts to advance universal freedoms and build partnerships that will have a profound effect, both within Indonesia and beyond.
Sincerely,
Leonard Leo
Chair
November 21, 2019